IMoCA Myanmar - Sounds of Summer

Sounds of Summer

The Topographical Map of 50,000 Scars

Book Launch and Exhibition by Aung Myat Htay

Listening is a fundamental in life. Sound of Summer (SOS), is an art project exploring how devastated land is at this current time. Inspired by the scientific reports, the works evoke a landscape of burns and wounds as evidence of a world under threat, showing the signs of deep degradation of earth and, the loss of natural phenomena, and with it, the erosion of our own aesthetic sensibility. Through a contemplative, sound-like clustering of memory-scars mapped onto idealized terrain, the exhibition weaves together histories of nature, society, and political trauma. It confronts us with the aftermath of ecological and human violence.

Sounds of Summer offers a meditative map of memory, rendered not with traditional art materials but using only the humble tools a pencil and soldering iron. As the title suggests, the attention of an urgent environmental emergency, the “scar” marks a trace of destruction, loss, and irreversible transformations. The works are imaginative and deeply felt cartography: a visual representation of sound that is between abstraction and reality and engaging the viewers as a form of self-witnessing. Nature often responds to its destroyers with its own resilience, as it recreates the art that speaks of destruction.

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Co-curated by the Arts and Culture Section of the Japan Foundation (Yangon)
Exhibition: June 28th Saturday to 4th July, 2025 | 2:00 Pm– 4:00 Pm, (Closed on Sunday & Monday) Main Hall, The Japan Foundation, Yangon.

Untitled #01

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 36 inch

Untitled #02

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 36 inch

Untitled #03

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 36 inch

Untitled #04

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 36 inch

Untitled #05

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 36 inch

Untitled #06

MIxed media on canvas, 36 x 48 inch

BOOK LAUNCH:

Ishibashi Foundation/The Japan Foundation Fellowship for Japanese Art Research

Shifting Eras: A Brief Introduction on Postmodern to Contemporary Japanese Art (1970s–1990s) and Reviewing Myanmar

by Aung Myat Htay

The purpose of this research is to learn about the transitional period of post- war Japanese Art and exchange knowledge to know how it reflects society through art. Art has been a tool to social and political changes and as a cultural agent since early times, and art is a pillar of knowledge that helps to elevate social life as it emerges from society. So, if we look into art without social behaviors or political situations it may not be a comprehensive view. Eventually art has different methods, styles, and appropriations, they all are evidence of a time that is shaped by social and political influences so, all art has the same social values. Due to the political changes and social instability in Myanmar, ideology in modern art has emerged and evolved since the 1960s but has not been thoroughly academically or theoretically studied. But, the generations from outside of institutions who were able to learn from the international exposure have been introduced to postmodern art today. This research will follow these local generations to introduce and extend ideas by adding Japan's experiences to provide future development in art.

Disaster Prevention & Mental Health Activities Through Art:

What can art and artists do to raise awareness about the importance of disaster pre- vention and improve mental health?

Curated by Aung Myat Htay

Organized by the Japan Foundation

In the Japan, the month of September is generally designated as Natural Disaster Prevention month, associated with the Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred in September 1, 1923 and left many people dead or missing. Natural disasters such as earthquakes do not only leave visible destruction but also deep psychological scars. In the wake of such challenges, art becomes a vital tool—not only for creative expression but also for community resilience, awareness-building, and mental health support.

With this concept, we create the activity consisting the exhibition, presentation and workshops in Mandalay, a place of effected one year after the great earthquake in March 2025. The Japan Foundation, Yangon is initiated the event of the disaster prevention & mental health activities through art. This event is intended to to remind and re-learn how to prevent the Natural Disaster

and to awareness the mental health problem in the communities. Workshop and exhibition detail is as follow;

Workshop
Date: 21 (Saturday), 10 am to 4 pm (Lunch will be provied)

Exhibition and Presentations:
Date: 22 (Sunday), 10 am to 5 pm (only one day event)

Organizers: The Japan Foundation, Yangon

Curator: Aung Myat Htay
Artist: Zun Ei Phyu, Suu Myint Thein, Hlaing Kyaw Phyoe, Morris John

21 (Sat) - 22 (Sun) , March, 2026.
Place: Myanmar-Japan Alliance Business Association(MABA), Block(1), Unit(6), Water Street, Mingalar Mandalay, Mandalay.

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